Avoid Pesticides — Kill Weeds with Hot Water

If you’ve got a garden, then you’ve got weeds. Even if you’ve decided not to manage your garden organically, it’s still important to pay close attention to what you’re putting into the soil. Using herbicides are harmful to the environment and cause particular damage to the water system. They can seep into the ground water or be washed into storm drains that flow into the ocean.

There are all natural herbicides available, but you can save money by trying this weed-killing solution first. Use heat to destroy weeds.

Yep. Heat kills weeds. Just pour boiling water directly on the weeds. (This technique works best in small spaces as a topical spot treatment.) You’ll notice that the weeds will begin to turn brown within a few hours.

Although this is a low-cost, low-impact method to kill weeds in your garden, it does have a few caveats.

The hot water is indiscriminate. In addition to killing weeds, it will also kill the good microorganisms in the soil. This is why you need to be careful how you apply the water. First to protect yourself and second to protect your flowers or veggies — especially any plants with a shallow root system. Try using a non-meltable watering can to apply apply the boiling water only where you need it.

Although this method may not control all your garden invaders, as an organic method to kill weeds it’s very effective. The boiling water strips away the weed’s protective coating causing extensive damage to its cellular structure. Just know that it may require more than one treatment.

Of course, the safest and least destructive way to kill weeds is still to get down and just plain pull ’em out.